I checked on the spot, so I’m not talking from stories. Any residential price per square meter in Budapest, whether we are talking about new or old buildings, is at least double that of the Romanian capital. Before being accused of not being a good Romanian, I make it clear that I would not leave Bucharest except in case of war and I have no Hungarian origins/relatives.
In what follows, through the comparative method, I will do a mini-analysis vis-à-vis what the two cities offer you, according to urban, separate from the individual comfort between the four walls, which are individually owned.
1. Budapest is crossed by a river, Bucharest is crossed by a river, clogged and unnavigable. If you want to take a cruise on the Danube, you will be greeted by dozens of steamboats and steamboats, cruise ships that make trips to neighboring countries as well. In the tourist boats, there are explanations in Romanian. Respect! Here, Dambovita looks pitiful and is a source of infection and a mosquito “nursery”.
2. Budapest has no lake(s) inside the city. Bucharest has several lakes, and the most famous one – Herastrau – smells terrible in the summer because of the heat. What irony, to change the old name (Herastrau) and put the name of the most beloved Romanian king, but not to care what it looks like anymore… This gives “homage” to King Michael. Today, the respective park is the mirror of the last administrations of the municipality. I wouldn’t be surprised if it looks the same in four years, due to lack of money, and the people of Bucharest grant Nicusor Dan a third mandate.
3. There are no less than seven restaurants with Michelin stars in Budapest. And in the “City of Joy” there was one, but it went bankrupt and no one dared to open another one. However, here I have to admit that Bucharest is very good in terms of good food and there are enough select restaurants, where you can invite any demanding foreigner. Complementary to the HoReCa field, I must also mention Budapest’s superiority in terms of hotel brands: Ritz, Four Seasons, Kempinski, etc., which make the difference.
4. And in the capital of Hungary there are a lot of old, unrenovated buildings, but I haven’t seen even one that you would be afraid to walk past, lest the plaster fall on your head. The safety of the old buildings is visible and, unlike in Bucharest, you don’t see any abandoned buildings. The old center of Buda and the lower part of Pest are some architectural, cultural and urban jewels, which cannot be compared with the Old Center of Bucharest.
5. Hungary was an empire, and the Parliament building says a lot about the history of Hungarians. In addition, Budapest has the second-largest synagogue in the world. I don’t think I need to write now about the influence of Jews worldwide. Victor Orban’s attitude in Europe is not accidental and has a solid base behind it. When your country was an empire and investors are welcomed with open arms – including from China and… Russia, wherever they come from, all these things also influence the price of houses.
What I must emphasize and should be taken into account when comparing prices between different cities: the value of a house does not depend only on what it offers inside, on the building in which it is located or why it exists in the immediate vicinity. The value is determined by taking into account the entire city, the urban offer as a whole, the level of foreign investments and, last but not least, who led or managed the city and the country. In my opinion, the price gap between Bucharest and Budapest will increase over time. Let’s not wonder why.
